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marcob82939744
Participating Frequently
July 10, 2018
Question

Impossible to select sub-layers with Auto-Select

  • July 10, 2018
  • 5 replies
  • 744 views

Hi there,

our company just updated to CC2018.

As I often work with layers and sub-layers I noticed that the Auto-Select tool after the update often selects the "mother"-layer instead of the sub-layer I target, which is a no-go for my work-flow.

Even when right-clicking on the target sub-layers to manually select them, it won't recognize them.

Has anybody encountered the same problem and has a fix for it?

Thanks!

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    5 replies

    c.pfaffenbichler
    Community Expert
    c.pfaffenbichlerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 10, 2018

    Well, either I don’t understand what the OP means in the absence of meaningful screenshots or Photoshop behaves differently on my computer.

    M
    marcob82939744Author
    Participating Frequently
    July 10, 2018

    Unfortunately I can't capture my screen on my work PC but the manipulation you're showing is not working on my files.

    Strangely enough, if I reproduce the same thing with simple shapes it works just fine.

    Copying all the layers into a new file didn't help either so I still haven't figured out a solution.

    c.pfaffenbichler
    Community Expert
    c.pfaffenbichlerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 10, 2018
    Strangely enough, if I reproduce the same thing with simple shapes it works just fine.

    Please clarify: is the problem that you always select the base layer or the topmost of the clipping masked layers?

    cinziamarotta
    cinziamarotta
    Participating Frequently
    July 10, 2018

    Hi,

    I suppose it depends on the selecting area, you should grab the sublayer on the edge of the clipping mask...

      M
      marcob82939744Author
      Participating Frequently
      July 10, 2018

      I guess the right term would be clipping-masks.

      The move tool settings are set to Auto-Select: Layer.

      melissapiccone
      Community Expert
      melissapicconeCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      July 10, 2018

      This is normal behavior and it has always worked this way. You need to manually select the layer that things are clipped to...

      Melissa Piccone | Adobe Trainer | Online Courses Author | Fine Artist
      Theresa J
      Community Expert
      Theresa JCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      July 10, 2018

      I'm afraid c.pfaffenbichlers screen capture proves this is perfectly possible and my workflow has always depended on this.


      Are you sure your layer structure is exactly like c.pfaffenbchlers screen capture? Maybe your very top layer is an adjustment layer, or a color fill that is clipped to a lower layer, but without a layer mask. Auto select layer will select the top most layer if it fills the entire composition, even if that layer is just applying a color or tone to the layers below. This accidentally happens to me all of the time. I get around this problem by locking that layer so auto select will bypass it.

      c.pfaffenbichler
      Community Expert
      c.pfaffenbichlerCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      July 10, 2018

      If you should have been talking about Groups: What are the Move Tool’s settings in the Options Bar?

      c.pfaffenbichler
      Community Expert
      c.pfaffenbichlerCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      July 10, 2018

      What do you mean by

      sub-layers

      exactly?

      A screenshot with the pertinent Panels might have made that clear right away …

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